AMARESHWAR SAHAY, J. - (1.) THE sole appellant has filed the present appeal against the judgment of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Chatra dated 18.1.1987 in the Sessions Trial No. 429 of 1995 whereby the learned trial Court has convicted the appellant under Section 307, IPC and sentenced him to undergo R.I. for 7 years. However, the trial Court acquitted the appellant from the charges under Sections 399/402, IPC holding that the prosecution has failed to establish the charge under Sections 399/402, IPC.
(2.) THE prosecution case in short, according to the fardbeyan of Gopal Singh Bhaudaria, the Sub - Divisional Police Officer, Chatra, is that Aditya Singh and Bijoy Singh (both dead) were the leaders of the gang of dacoits. The dacoit Aditya Singh was married with the daughter of Shrawan Singh of village Birekhap. On 9.9.1994 choukidar, Ashik Ansari (PW 8) gave information to the SDPO Gopal Singh Bhaudaria that dacoit Aditya Singh alongwith his gang was staying in the house of his father - in -law Shrawan Singh at village Birekhap and they were planning to commit dacoity. On receipt of this information, the informant alongwith R.S. Yadav and Shri Ram Janam Sharma both Sub -Inspector of Police, Jagdish Choubey, Officer -in -Charge of Chatra Police Station alongwith Police force proceeded at 10.30 a.m. for Birekhap. The informant also sent information to Mahendra Pratap Singh, Officer -in -Charge of Itkhori Police Station, to reach Amin Chak Naka alongwith his police force. Mahendra Pratap Singh, the Officer -in -Charge alongwith Gopinath Tiwari Sub -Inspector of Police, Ramnaresh Choudhary ASI and Hawaldar Shiv Shankar Prasad proceeded alongwith other Police force and reached at Amin Chak Naka. There, they saw that a Jeep bearing, registration No. 24 -L - 0153 was standing there. The Police force was divided in 3 groups. The first group of Police force consisted of the informant, SI of Police Ram Janam Sharma and informer choukidar Ashik Ansari (PW 8) as well as the jawans of Police force. They proceeded towards village Bakchumma. The second group was being led by SI Jagdish Choubey and Gopinath Tiwary. They proceeded towards village Charu via Pandeymahuwa and the third group was being led by the Sub -Inspector of Police Mahendra Pratap Singh, Ramnaresh Choudhary and the jawans of Police force. They proceeded towards village Khiregadda. In this way, the aforesaid three groups of Police force proceeded ahead on Jeep in order to arrest the dacoits. The informant has stated that on receipt of the information from the informer, he divided the Police force led by him in two parts and they started proceeding towards village Birekhap. They saw that 6 to 7 miscreants were fleeing away towards South of village Birekhap. The informer Ashik Ansari (PW 8) identified Aditya Singh and the inmates and intimated that the group of Aditya Singh was running away. It is said that Jagdish Choubey, Sub -Inspector of Police with his force was chasing the dacoits from Northern side. The Police force headed by Ram Janam Sharma was surrounding, the dacoits from the Southern side. When the informants saw the dacoits fleeing away, he ordered them to surrender, but the said dacoits started firing on the police force which caused injury upon the informant on his left shoulder. Thereafter, the informant ordered to open fire then the police force also started firing in self -defence. The fire arm injury was also found on the thighs of the informant. - The police force kept proceeding, slowly in the direction from which the firing was coming and when they went ahead they found that 3 dacoits lying dead with firm arm injuries having profused bleeding. The villagers assembled there and they identified two of the three dacoits as Aditya Singh and Bijoy Singh.
(3.) THE Sub -Inspector of Police Mahendra Pratap Singh alongwith police force was surrounding by the dacoits from the side of the village Khiregadda and it is said that two of the dacoits fleeing away were arrested and country made pistols and cartridges were recovered from their possession. These two dacoits were arrested by Mahendra Pratap Singh and Sanjay Singh and Vijay Singh i.e. the appellant.;